A police commercial vehicle investigation unit would today try to determine exactly what caused an unladen logging truck to crash into the rear of a school bus that was pulling over on the side of a road in rural Ruatoki, south of Whakatane about 3.30pm.
The crash left 35 children injured, six seriously, and was a scene of chaos with injured children and upset adults scattered across the grassy paddock where the smashed vehicles came to rest.
Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander Inspector Sandra Venables said today it was still too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash, and investigations into the accident could take up to a month.
"There is obviously a great deal of work that needs to be done in the coming weeks. Obviously this is a serious incident and we need to ensure that our investigation is thorough and robust _ in the same way we would with any other crash.''
She said police today will interview children who were on the bus at the time, along with witnesses to the crash. Work will continue with local families, schools and students she said.
The area remains cordoned off, and significant testing and forensic work on the vehicles at the scene is already underway she said.
Ms Venables said her thoughts went out to the families of the injured and she was thankful the crash was not worse than it was.
"Our thoughts go out to everyone who has been impacted by the crash and they should rest assured that we will ensure that the circumstances of the crash are fully investigated.''
In Auckland, a six-year-old is being treated in paediatric intensive care unit at Starship Hospital after being transferred from Rotorua Hospital yesterday.
A second 6-year-old, a girl, in Rotorua Hospital was today in a satisfactory condition, a spokeswoman said. Staff did not know when she would be discharged.
Passenger Jody Rua, 15, was about to get off the bus when the crash happened.
He told Radio New Zealand he saw his peers jumping out windows to escape.
"I thought about it for a second but then I saw the little kids and that so I just thought I might as well help them try to escape. And then all the injuries I saw was shocking.''
Rua said the bus door was open so he and the bus driver helped injured children, many of them his friends, off the bus.
"I was freaking out when I saw how gruesome and bad it was, and they couldn't even see or feel anything that had happened to them. They were just walking around clueless.''
Transbay Coaches' director Justin Allan said the company was also determining what happened.
"As far as we can make out, the bus was on its regular school run. It appears that it was pulling over to drop students off when the logging truck impacted with it from behind,'' he told Newstalk ZB.
He said the 41-year-old bus driver had worked for the company for a number of years, and was upset by the incident.
The truck driver, who was flown to Tauranga hospital yesterday, was monitored overnight and is expected to be released today.
The bus was carrying students from Trident and Whakatane High schools and primary students from Taneatua. All are from the Ruatoki Valley area.
Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals have treated injured passengers.
Trident High School in Whakatane will explain the crash to their students this morning in a full school assembly.
Principal Peter Tootell said the school's crisis team, made up of guidance counsellors and senior staff, would meet this morning.
Eight students from the school had been on the bus and none had serious injuries, he told Radio New Zealand.
"There was good whanau support with them at the hospital last night and whilst one or two of them have broken bones, there were one or two with minor injuries and they were fixed up and sent home last night with their families.
"Others were waiting to have x-rays and no doubt will end up in plaster or may have been kept in overnight.''
He said the school would continue to monitor the students' recovery through the families and the hospital.
